cramer. i will see you tomorrow. captions paid for by nbc-universal television hello and good morning. i'm lynn berry. and today we begin with convention kick-off. the democratic national convention officially begins in

charlotte tonight where first lady michelle obama will take the stage and try to convince undecided voters that her husband deserves a second term. nbc's tracy potts joins us live there. she has the details from charlotte. tracie, good morning. >> hi, lynn. behind the stage where it all gets started tonight, the stage where we'll see michelle obama, but not where we'll see the president. he'll be a few blocks away at the bank of america before he arrives to make his case here in charlotte. last night president obama told hurricane victims -- >> nobody's a democrat or republican. we're all just americans. >> but not in charlotte this week. heal accept the democratic nomination on thursday i'll offer you what i believe is a better passport. >> tonight we hear from michelle obama. she checked out the stage monday. >> she's going talk about the president she knows, the husband she married, and, of course, the

father to her children. >> maryland's govern and san antonio's mayor julian castro also speak tonight. castro is the first latino to give a keynote address, the same spot possible had in 2004. >> the first lady, i'm sure, is going to deliver a very positive message. governor o'malley and mine is an optimistic message as well. >> paul ryan told a packed crowd all those features will avoid a key question. >> here's the word we're not going to hear. we're not going to hear evidence and facts how people are better off. >> vice president biden says we are and here's why. >> osama bin laden is dead and general motors is alive. >> biden arrives in charlotte today. meantime mitt romney is relaxing with family in new england rehearsing for october's debate. and in addition to the speeches, especially the key note speeches, delegates here today will also vote on the democratic party's platform, which includes

higher taxes for the wealthy. lynn? >> all right. tracie potts for us in charlotte. tracie, thanks so much. according to the latest gallup poll they asked last week, scored a record low with americans. only 38% of americans rated romney's speech as excellent or good. that's the lowest of any speeches gallup tested since bob dole's accepted speech in 1966. 16% rated the romney address as poor or terrible. else where, it has been one week since isaac slammed into the gulf coast, and still tens of thousands are in the dark. while crews have been working around the clock to restore electricity, utilities report more than 100,000 customers are powerless in louisiana, mississippi, and arkansas. in louisiana some low lying areas are still under water. and now a triple-digit forecast could make app already difficult clean-up even more miserable.

well, now here's a look at some other stories making news early today in america. california, take a look at these dramatic pictures of what's being called a fire tornado. more than 4,000 acres have burned in the angeles national forest and wildfires like this one are known to create their own wind conditions. a thousand campers and others were evacuated since the fire grew, breaking out on sunday. in mississippi, hurricane isaac has caused more than 5,000 dead rodents to wash up along the gulf coast, and that number could actually double. the dead swamp rats are not only an eye sore -- pretty gross -- they could even create a health hazard, so now local officials are asking the state to help in the clean-up. and, finally, california's world-renowned muscle beach lived up to its name as men and women have clearly spent more time weight lifting than most of us ever will strutted their stuff for judges.

more than 100 hard bodies competed in categories from teenagers to seniors all in a spot made famous by arnold schwarzenegger. i think if you look real closely in that video you may see bill karins. he was off for the weekend. and now for a look at your national and regional weather, here's nbc meteorologist bill karins. show them your guns, bill. >> i ran out of the oil i usually soak myself in. >> i hate when that happens. >> good morning, everyone. we have leslie to talk about which should become a pretty good-sized hurricane in the days head and tropical humidity throughout the eastern half of the country. yesterday we needed umbrellas in many areas of the carolinas down through georgia and virginia. we're going to do it again today and we'll also include areas in the mid-atlantic. a little front trying to stall itself out here. showers in kansas city and thundershowers going through southern portions of alabama. looks like it should miss areas around louisiana and mississippi. if you're heading out to

baltimore to redding to philadelphia, especially here in central new jersey, some really heavy downpours and those are trying to drift up here toward long island. so areas throughout no, during your early morning commute, you may deal with some heavy downpour. then we're dealing with leslie. it is still a tropical storm but it has strength rched a little bit. looks like possibly a category 2 hurricane by saturday. if it does we'll have pretty good upcoming waves and the rip current will be very high along the eastern seaboard. surfers will love it but it will be dangerous for anyone going to the beaches. showers along the air yas. look how hot it is still in texas. we'd like to get rid of those 100s. that's a look at your national forecast. now here's a look at the weather outside your window. today in chicago, 87 degrees. the front is kind of stalling out just to your south. you'll be okay.

memphis still very warm at 95. look at oklahoma city, 103. we really haven't gotten any rain in a long time. so the heat in the middle of the country still with the drought conditions are very severe. >> unfortunately. all right, bill, thank you. coming up, eight on the way for spain and italy, everyone wants a piece of american airlines, and the current economic conditions for the tooth fairy. your early morning business headlines are straight ahead. plus, justin bieber has a new tattoo. what is it? how many does he have? and what was the first? so many questions, so little time. stay tuned. another milestone for tiger woods, a pair of walk-offs out west, and a thrilling end to the first weekend of the college football season. you're watching "early today."

good morning and welcome back to "early today." i'm lynn berry, and here are some of your top headlines this morning.

"the new york times" reports the u.s. is close to an economic deal with egypt's new government to eliminate $1 billion of egypt's debt to help make the transition to democracy. syrian president says there will be no dialogue with the army while they impose security. meanwhile the opposition group says they're bulldozing homes in damascus, a suburb there, allegedly because they sheltered rebels there. in columbia the woman known as the godmother of cocaine was killed by an assassin on a motor vehicle. she spent nearly 20 years in prison in the u.s. for drug trafficking and murder. actor michael clarke duncan has died at age 54, almost two months after a heart attack. he was best nope, of course, for his oscar-nominated role in "the green mile.

". and england's prince harry made his first public appearance since naked photos appeared on the internet. he met with critically ill children in london. one of the kids wanted to make a joke about the photo scandal, harry playfully warned him, quote, not to sake something pukey. here's one of the health warnings on msnbc.com. a new study finds organic produce and meat is no better for you when it comes to vitamin nutrient content but the organic c options can lower resistance. the report reviewed data from more than 200 studies from newt trent and come tan nent levels from both types of foot and for this and more check out the health page on msnbc.com. and now here's an early look at how wall street's going to kick off the day. the dow closed ahead of the

holiday weekend at 13,090 after rising 90 points. the s&p added 7. the nasdaq gained 18. taking a look at overseas trading this morning, in tokyo the nikkei lost 18 points while in hong kong the hang seng dropped 129. on the heels of last friday's hints of more stimulus from fed chief ben bernanke they'll also be pondering stimulus from another central bank. optimism grew when the european central bank announced they will purchase a plan thursday after draghi told european lawmakers if the bank purchases sovereign bonds it would not breach. still not all euro news was good. moody's put the european union on notice. its aaa rating is at risk of downgrade due to the continent's ongoing debt crisis.

nevertheless even after moody's downgraded it they held their ground after serious hopes to tackle the crisis is about to emerge. elsewhere valiant pharmaceuticals agreed to buy medicis for $2.6 million. british airways and iag are looking to buy american airlineses. they're already in talked with u.s. airways. >> cabin crews say they're striking today for eight hours in frankfurt and berlin in a dispute over pay and conditions. hyundai has reach and agreement with its union workers to end the costliest strike in the country's history. finally you know it's ban when this happens. inflation is hitting the tooth fairy. they fond on average $3 under

their pillow. that's up 15%. coming up, extra innings walk-off, tiger makes bank and players head to the u.s. open tennis quarterfinals. plus a college football matchup goes down to the wire and beyond. your early morning sports headlines are straight ahead. and the weather map doesn't look much like september. tropical heat and humid in the east. your forecast is coming up. you're watching "early today."

good morning. if you're just waking up, this is "early today." and in sports in college football last night 16th ranked virginia tech relied on their kicker to come from behind and then sealed the deal in overtime. here's nbc's mario solis with an early look at all your sports headlines. >> good morning. the opening weekend of the college football season ended with a thrilling battle in blacksburg. 16th ranked virginia tech got all it could handle from georgia tech. pick it up in the final minute. jackets down four. kevin jackson findshill. that is enough time for the hokeys to get it to field goal range. cody superior knell from 40 yards out. he doesn't miss this one. ties the game as time expires and forces overtime.

after a v.a. tech interception it's jornell again. this time a chip for a win. no doubt about it. number 16 virginia tech gets a scare and pulls out a win. 20-17. fish pulled out of the open because of health concerns. there was an upset. serena williams won in straight sets. golf, final round of the deutsche bank championship. tiger woods was on the hunt until the end. he finished third place and with it to become the third golfer to pass the $100 million mark in earnings. rory stalls it at the cup. he would tap into the deutsche bank championship. baseball, a pair of walk-offs out west, dodgers and padres tied at three in the 11th. two on for ellis and he delivers. slaps an rba to right. dodgers win it 4-3 in 11.

and finally to san francisco where giants were using the force against the diamondbacks. down one ninth. then in the entkt, marco scutaro, same spot, same result. giants score five in the final four innings to beat arizona, 9 hch 8 in ten and that's your look at sports on "early today." i'm mario solis. sir paul notches another honor, and bobby brown is out and says he's clean. your early morning entertainment headlines are straight ahead. plus what daring kind of fried food can you expect to see at the texas state fair? you're watching "early today."

welcome back on this tuesday. if you're just joining us, i hope you had a wonderful three-day holiday weekend. a lot of people, back to work, back to school. heading out the door this morning many areas need umbrellas on the earn seaboard. also thunderstorms rolling through kansas city. very hot in the middle of the country for the next two days. easily today and tomorrow above 100 in dallas. well, if you're watching us on on channel 2 news in buffalo, new york, learn about the notable land mark at architecture exposed at the burchfield penney art center. and that's your "early today" event of the day, lynn. >> all right, bill, thanks so much. and now here's an early look at this morning's headlines in entertainment. you can add yet another honor to

the beatles' long list. this coming weekend french president francois hollande will decorate him with the highest public distinction. elsewhere a nadial power couple is taking stake. dion phaneuf and his long-time girlfriend/actress shubert became engaged over the word. tmz reports bobby brown is out of rehab, denies he leftarily and writes he's 20 days early. the 57-year-old actor was considering legal architect from apple because he wants to leave his digital music collection to his daughters. and bieber released his photo of his knew tattoo. the crown. it marks the 18-year-old's seventh tattoo. how about that.

>> do you want me to print that out for you? >> put it in my locker? the pop star got the first, a tribute to jonathan livingston see gull on his 16th birthday with his dad. >> you don't have a locker? >> you don't? you're missing us. this comes to us from kxas 5 in dallas where everything is big in dallas including bellyaches. the state fair held its fried food cook-offs. they entered their favorite, fried cake, cinnamon roles and deep fried pork rinds, right up your alley, bill. but none of them could hold a greasy spoon when it came to the river. deep fried jumbo lie ya. i'm lynn berry, this is "early today," your first stop of the day today on your nbc station. [ female announcer ] over the years,

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it's 4:28. 74 degrees. humid start to your morning. a few sprinkles. we'll have your forecast straight ahead. >> also ahead. maryland governor part tmartin o'malley will have a day in the spotlig spotlight. good morning. i'm aaron gilchrist. >> i'm eun yang. it is "news4 today." it is back to school for thousands of students in northern virginia. that inclouds the 11th largest school district in the country. fairfax county is welcoming them back today. yesterday we found students and

parents doing last minute shopping. >> rather hectic only because usually at the high school level they're not given supply lists. so try to do all the guesswork in the stores. beat the crowds. hopefully not everything is picked over. >> fairfax county police will be out in full force making sure drivers follow the school bus laws. drivers should come to a complete stop in both directions when the school bus is loading or unloading with flashing lights. ten feet surrounding the school bus is the most dangerous area for students being hit by cars. >> take all those school buses and parents getting back to work and that could mean a nightmare on the roads. today is terrible traffic tuesday. aaa is expecting gridlock. they say 2.8 million people will be headed to work with nearly 2 million of them driving solo. 700,000 people will pack metro and a million more kids are headed back to school as well. it all means you sd